Post-Failure Procedures

Samuel said to the people, "Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. (1 Samuel 12:20 NASB)

 I messed up the same way for so long, I seriously wondered if my Master even still knew my name.  I was struggling with the same stupid stuff over and over, and even still, now and again, it comes back to haunt me.  How much sin is too much for my Master before He rejects me?

Well, when I stumbled on this verse in 1 Samuel, my heart seized it in excitement.  Here is something I can go back to, over and over even.  The reason it excited me was because each time I failed (again), I would wonder, "What now?"  As if I'm the prodigal son who thought after messing up, he couldn't go home.  But that is pride, a lever used by my enemy to create a wedge between my Master and me.

Once Samuel had demonstrated that He and their God were on the same page (thunder and rain to prove it), they were terrified of God because they had made this mistake of asking for a king.  This verse is Samuel's response to them, and my Master's to me.  The answer to the question, "What do I do now?" after failing my Master is to serve my Master with all my heart.

Perhaps revisiting "heart" here might be a good idea.  In our culture or society, heart means the center of the emotions.  In that culture/society, it means the center of a person's determination and stamina; perhaps we'd call it "focus", but with staying power.  So, to serve my Master with all my heart means to serve Him with all my determination and stamina.  How far can I run without collapse in a heap of gasping and wheezing?  That's how far and to what extent I serve my Master; until I have nothing left.  Think "Brock Kelly and his 100-yard death crawl" in Facing the Giants.

It's nice to have an answer, also good to have some understanding of what it means in general, but what does it mean specifically?  That may be a personal thing where for each person, the answer is different.  For me, the answer is manifold: Family, Work, Church, and my Community.  These are the venues in which the answer is lived out. 

It's not enough to "love my family" but that love is lived out in service to my Master.  It's not enough to "show up to work" but that presence is to be a conduit for the grace and love of my Master into those I work with, for, and on.  It's not enough that I "attend church", I am to roll up my sleeves and serve my fellows and serve with them.  It's not enough that I am "in the community", I am to engage with my neighbors, my community leaders, and always bring the light of my Master into every conversation.

So, for me, that is what it means to serve my Master with all my heart.  What does it mean for you?  While you're working over that thought, I have to ready myself to serve my Master at my job.  Blessings upon you!

The Danger of Being Loved by my Master

Samuel said to the people, "Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.  You must not turn aside, for then you would go after futile things which can not profit or deliver, because they are futile.  For the LORD will not abandon His people on account of His great name, because the LORD has been pleased to make you a people for Himself." (1 Samuel 12:20-22 NASB)

"Only fear the LORD and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.  But if you still do wickedly, both you and your king will be swept away." (1 Samuel 12:24-25 NASB)

Samuel makes his last public address in Gilgal after Saul has been ratified as king for the second time.  In it he asserts his own innocence and calls the people to affirm it and God to witness.  Then he affirms the faithfulness of God, while simultaneously the faithlessness of the people; right up to asking for a king.  Then he calls on God to punctuate what he's saying to the people by spontaneously bringing thunder and rain (out of season).

The people are terrified and call on Samuel to continue to pray for them so they won't die.  His response to them is mostly above.  I chose these two elements out of his response because they bring out a part of God's character which is sadly misunderstood today.  In my childhood, my Master was not described to me this way, at least that's not what I caught from the teaching.

What way?  Well, while I do remember the power of my Master to create and shake His creation, sweeping away His people wasn't one of the elements I remember.  Think about the two elements, one that He is pleased to make a people for Himself, and two that He will sweep them away for causing evil.  They appear contradictory, but obviously aren't.

Here's what I believe is missed about the character of my Master in this passage.  I believe that my Master demonstrates enormous grace and mercy in His choice of me.  Clearly there is nothing inherent in my behavior and attitudes that warrants such attention from my Holy Creator. But the love of my Master for me is also guided by His holiness, which constantly directs me into more of this same character.  In order to accomplish this direction, my Master will sweep me away if necessary to remove me from an environment where I have lost my moorings to Him.

Is that a lot to get from this passage?  Probably.  But this passage occurs in the larger history of the sons of Israel for whom this is exactly what happens.  But this larger story continues on to their restoration, at least partially, to their former place.  What is also true is that the these sons of Israel do not then cease to be the people of God's choice.  So, neither will I.  But as they suffered, and have suffered, neither will I be exempt from such treatment from my Master.  Why would I?

I believe the rational of my Master behind this is the larger story in which the history of the sons of Israel is placed; where my Master seeks to redeem His entire creation.  He chooses a people to use to redeem the rest of the people, including me.  Yet if He will not spare one from being "swept away", why would I believe He will not sweep away the others?  If He does not spare the first chosen from suffering, why would I believe He would spare me? 

Do you see the character quality of my Master peeking through?  But do you see also the critical implication?  There is a danger is drifting away from a pure devotion to my Master.  When I mix it with devotion to things, people, circumstances, and the elements of my life on this planet; then I am in danger of being swept away by Him Whom I have forgotten.  Swept away, along with all the stuff, people, and circumstances I found so distracting.  Perhaps this is an implication of Jesus' words, "If anyone wishes to save his life he will lose it, but whoever loses His life for My sake and the gospel's he will save it." (Matthew 10:39, Mark 8:35, Luke 9:24)  Keep in mind that in these passages, "life" is actually the word "soul".

What I see as my response to this passage is to serve my Master with all my heart.  It confirms the words of my Master to me that I am His servant.  He gave me that designation many years ago in my youth, and I rediscovered it some few years ago while seeking to climb out of my addictive behaviors.  I needed to know who I am, and my Master's definition of me included the designation of His servant.  So that is in my "signature": SOTK, Servant of the King.  The danger of forgetting this is real, tangible, and for my sake because of His holiness and love for me, inflexible.  Now where's my dish towel?  I think I hear my Master calling!  "Here I am, my Master!"